Author: Adam

I am an Etsy Manchester team leader, passionate about all aspects of photography - particularly landscapes and wildlife. I own the Etsy store Adam Clark Photography. Born and raised in Manchester UK, I started learning the art of photography from a young age, tutored by my Father, using his old film camera. I still have and use that camera to this day.

Etsy Made Local returned to Manchester, bigger and better for 2017!

Etsy Made Local: Manchester came back home to People’s History Museum from Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd December 2017, brought to you by the Etsy Manchester team. Visitors who attended over the weekend found unique, personalised, one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts in a beautiful location from artisans and designer-makers who put their heart and soul into everything they make. There were even more sellers than in 2016 and more visitors attended, too. We had a fabulous weekend!

Titles and keywords can seriously affect your listing rank. A good, well thought out tags-and-titles strategy can help your listings leap-frog your competitors and will appear much higher in search results. In this article we give you an overview of what Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is, how it can benefit your bottom line and what you can do to improve.

SEO, to some a complete mystery of the internet age but, if understood and implemented well, it can help you to climb up those listings, ensure you get found more easily and regularly and, critically, can put your products firmly in front of customers’ eyes…and we all know that can’t be a bad thing!

So…how about that SEO stuff, huh? Yup, I’m sure at some point we’ve all had a head-scratching moment trying to understand what makes the world of internet searches work. Just me then? Okay. Fine!

SEO explained! Kind of.

What does SEO stand for? Why, Search Engine Optimisation of course. Yes! Ten points to Gryffindor! Google is a search engine. Yahoo is a search engine. And Etsy has its own search capabilities. It’s all about making sure your tags are relevant and both human- and machine-readable. Etsy will take those tags that you apply to your product – yes, make sure you use every last one of them! – and will match those with the searches being performed by those thousands of lovely potential customers who are looking around on etsy.com each and every day. If your tags (and titles) contain words and phrases that most closely match the shoppers’ search terms then, hey presto, your product is more likely to be at the top of those glorious results. What you’ll end up with is that golden opportunity; eyeballs looking at your stuff!

Research is the key to finding great tags. Ask friends, ask family, ask random people on the street. Show them your product and ask them to describe what they see. Use this as your base. Record your findings and implement them.

Gettin’ it now? The upshot is that you’d be mad not to take this stuff seriously. And you’d be mad to ignore it. Yes, it can be slightly technical and not everybody’s cup of tea but if you take your business seriously and you want to make some coin from your shop, I think you should, at the very least, pay attention to the following tips.

The skinny

The Etsy Manchester leaders have all sat down (there was wine on the table!) and we’ve come up with some fabulous SEO tips for your consideration that, if researched properly, can help your items more favourably in Etsy’s (and other search engines) rankings.

Think like a buyer.
Step outside of the creator mindset for a little while and think about what your customer would be searching for to find your items. What words would they use?

Review your stats.
Go to Your Shop » Stats, choose a time frame such as Last 30 Days and scroll down to ‘Top keywords’. These are the key terms people are using to find your items, add these to your titles and tags to get more views!

Do your Research.
Start typing your keyword/s into the Etsy search and Etsy will show you a list of the most searched for terms which use your keyword. Use any that are relevant in your title and tags.

Ask family and friends
Give a group of family and friends an item of yours to look at and ask them to describe it and tell you what they would search for if they were looking for this item. For a bonus tip, don’t forget that age and gender differences can really affect what terms people search for! The youth of today will often come up with a word you never thought of!

Research the competition.
Type your key terms into the Etsy search and choose a selection of the top items to look at. Try to spot patterns of words that are used in their titles and scroll down to the bottom of the listing to see what tags are being used to get ideas for your shop.

Remember to use key terms.
Use “Coral Blue Necklace” instead of just “Necklace”.

Forget duplicates
Try to use all of the available characters and don’t worry about variations in UK/US spellings. Etsy automatically shows items that use both variances of a spelling e.g. when searching for “jewellery”, items with both “jewellery” and “jewelry” will appear in the search. However, if your item is named something else in US English, be sure to include both keywords to reach a wider audience e.g. “Handkerchief” and “Pocket Square”.

Mirror, Mirror!
Mirror your title key terms in your tags. Whatever key terms you use in your title should be replicated in your tags. If a key term is too long to fit as a tag, break it down into smaller tags. E.g. “Funny Anniversary Card” can be tagged as “Funny Anniversary”, “Anniversary Card” and “Funny Card”.

Keepin’ it real
Don’t add tags that are not relevant, you’re only fooling yourself! Don’t try to appear higher in the search for terms that are not relevant to your item. If a customer is searching for something specific and your item doesn’t match what they’re looking for, it’ll stand out, but not in a good way.

Promo
Don’t forget to tag your shop name and, if you’ve got a spare tag to go, add the #EtsyMCR tag so that we can find you and get yourself onto our regular treasuries.

This isn’t by any means an exhaustive list but it’s a good, solid start. Go through your listing and slowly make the changes.

You may have the expectation that your stats will uplift. You may not observe an up-turn in your stats for a few weeks as, well, the internet is chock-full of data and this stuff simply takes time to filter through. Don’t be disheartened if you’re not propelled to a level of rockstar seller. Be patient. And until that happens there’s always more products to be made, more kick-ass product photographs to be taken and product descriptions to be spruced up. An Etsy seller’s work is never done, am I right?!

Links

In need of more help? You can check out the Etsy Seller Handbook, specifically their Getting Found section.

The table cloths are now stored away, the festive music has fallen silent for now and the Etsy Made Local extravaganza has, for 2016 at least, become a treasured memory. But we’ll be back in 2017 for more…bigger, better and shinier than ever!

And that’s a wrap, people!

In December 2016, the Etsy Manchester Team hosted our first ever Etsy Made Local Christmas market. After months of planning, numerous team meetings and hundreds of social media posts, we opened the doors to People’s History Museum’s beautiful Engine Hall on the morning of Thursday 1st December and held our breath as we hoped for lots of visitors and sales for all our lovely stall holders.

We didn’t have to wait very long! Straight away there were visitors popping in to take a look around, stopping to look at each stall, having a chat and buying gifts, before heading off to explore the museum exhibitions.

On Thursday evening, People’s History Museum held their annual Winter Warmer event. Manchester’s SHE Choir entertained shoppers, museum visitors and the Etsy Manchester team with their heavenly singing.

Over the course of the four days, there were some sellers who were with us for two days, and some stayed for all four. On Saturday morning, we were joined by several new faces who set up their stalls for the weekend. We had a very busy Saturday and Sunday, as many determined shoppers arrived looking for those perfect gifts. Emily Dean from Etsy’s UK team came to visit us on Saturday and chatted to everyone, as well as picking out her favourite items.

Over the weekend there were also workshops run by members of the team. Visitors popped upstairs to make their own enamelled keyrings and felt Christmas tree decorations with Ruth and Laima.

After four days of hard work, our sellers packed down and headed home for a well-deserved rest! Thanks to everyone who took part, helped out, visited, and supported us in the weeks and months leading up to our first ever Christmas market.

Peace out, y’all!

Our heartfelt thanks to all who participates and helped arrange this fantastic event, from the incredibly accommodating and helpful People’s History museum staff, the SHE Choir, the energetic and highly creative sellers and, finally, all the wonderful shoppers, who let their festive curiosity get the better of them and came along to see us.

Come and join in at our Etsy Manchester social meeting – titled Selling in Person – where we’ll be sharing our advice, hints and tips on selling in the real world; at markets and craft fairs. We’ll share some knowledge to help you and your business make an impression. From adding personal touches to great in-person customer service, we can help you shine, gain and retain customers and hopefully turn a nice profit. Be there or be square! MadLab, 36-40 Edge Street, M4 1HN, Manchester from 6.30pm.

The Etsy Manchester social is upon us again this week, starting at 6.30pm on Wednesday, 25th May 2016. This time the social is titled “Selling in Person”, and it does exactly what it says on the tin!

We’ll help you and your business shine at craft fairs and markets with our collective array of knowledge and friendly, practical and straight-forward advice.

We’ll also have both good examples for you to follow, innovate customer service technique to learn from and try out, and we may share some stories about things that went wrong along the way so you don’t make the same mistakes. We’ll discuss the latest in payment taking, from handling cash and taking electronic payments via PIN devices li If you’re looking to start trading in person then this is a must for you.

On 30th of April 2016, Etsy Manchester – in association with the Whitworth gallery – launched its inaugural creative wedding fair in Manchester! An event for people who want a wedding that is as unique as they are!

On 30th of April 2016 (11am – 4pm) Etsy Manchester, in association with the Whitworth gallery, brought the Creative Wedding Fair to Manchester!

An alternative wedding show

The wedding show was for the alternative and quirky, for those that value handmade integrity and local craftsmanship. An event for people who think outside of the ‘big corporation’ box and want a wedding that is as unique as they are!

Exterior front view of The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester.

Held in the stunning Whitworth Art Gallery on the 30th of April 2016 from 11am-4pm, The Creative Wedding Fair showcased the best handmade, individual and personalised wedding-related products and services. Organised by Etsy Manchester, which represents more than one thousand sellers, The Creative Wedding Fair was all about human relationships and interactions which shape and enrich the big day. Entry was free and 35 individual sellers – coupled with the ambiance of a lovely live band – helped to make a magical event.

Keep your eyes open for this event in 2017!

Pictures from the day

Ruth and Emma from the Etsy Manchester leadership team celebrating

Ruth and Adam from the Etsy Manchester leadership team celebrating a successful day!